Where were you when you heard of 9/11 attacks?

Sept. 10, 2011 at 4:10 a.m.

"It was my first day working as an assistant manager at Hollywood Video, and I was sleeping because I was coming in for the late shift. I woke up to the news." - Jonathan Williams, 32, of Victoria, unemployed

"I remember I went to school wearing my anti-flag shirt 'punk band' and the disaster happened. I felt so bad and got bad reactions all day. It was an extremely bad day." - Janell Kay Langley-Reyes, 25, of Victoria, H-E-B Plus Seafood Market

"I was in video tech class on the second floor of the library that morning, my sophomore year. We were 'studying,' mostly goofing off, talking about the announcements we had to make that morning. Then the librarian came running over to us, told our teacher we needed to get to the TV. We saw the first building on fire and had no idea what was going on. The reporter in the foreground was trying to make sense of what was going on and behind her we saw the second plane go in. We watched the collapse. We watched people jump from those buildings. I was stunned. I had seen it and yet had no idea what I saw. I stood there with my classmates open mouthed and in shock, not sure even if it was real or a dream. Then to hear about the other planes, the ones that didn't make it. I made the announcement that morning with another from my class. Telling the school what had happened, what I had seen, not even sure if I could believe it myself. That is a day I will never forget." - Gretchen Nichols, 25, of Victoria, bartender at Mustang

"I was ironing. I watched the news for the rest of the day. I hope it never happens again." - Murrel Puirkhiser, of San Antonio, retired

"The first thoughts were disbelief." - Joe Puirkhiser, of San Antonio, retired

"I was in New Orleans, visiting a friend. I cleared the corner of the living room just in time to see the television as the second plane hit. I was worried about how I was going to get home." - Marilynn Ellis, of Victoria, retired

"I was in algebra class. I was 13. I got to go to NY on the sixth anniversary when they lit the towers." - Kayla Dennis, 23, of Cuero, food safety specialist at CL Thomas

"We were living in Montana, I was in the Air Force. I was at work. We spent a month, almost two months, with heightened security on the base. We had to wait in long lines to come and go. We saw it on television. It doesn't seem like it was 10 years ago. It seems like it was yesterday." - Juan Cruz, 40, of Victoria, manager at Sam's Club

"I think it was a historic event, a historic moment. The biggest event of the 21st century. I was at work when it happened." - Matthew Bomersbach, of San Antonio, USAA employee

"I was off work that day, but had worked 16 hours the day before so was just crawling out of bed. I remember I had made a piece of toast and had the TV on the kitchen. I just stood, staring at the TV, toast in hand, not moving. At first I just thought it was a small plane off course, then the smoke and flames and the announcers so frightened and surprised. People jumping out of the windows. They had live cameras so those scenes were not cut out like they were in the later showings. I could not believe it. After seeing the people falling to their death, I felt sick and lay my toast down uneaten. I picked up the phone to call a friend and just as she answered the second plane hit the tower. It was a horrible morning. A horrible day for America." - Sue Hedtke, 65, of Victoria, retired nurse

"I was greeting my students at the classroom door and a student asked me if I'd heard about the 'big buildings' in New York being hit by planes. I honestly thought he was joking with me. I wish he had been." - Tanya Frolick, 43, of Victoria, teacher

"I remember because I was late for school that day. Dad had done the laundry the night before, so I was sitting on the edge of his bed putting on my socks, when I saw the footage on the news. I thought vaguely that Dad was watching the History Channel, that this was something awful that happened somewhere else. I never dreamed it would happen here." - Ramona Flores, 21, of San Marcos, employee at Home Depot

"I had just dropped my kids off at school and was sitting at the light at Rio Grande and Laurent. Had the radio on and my first thought was that Joe Friar was pulling a War of the Worlds kind of thing on the radio. I went straight home and saw the second tower hit. Devastated, I watched the rest of the event play out on TV. The worst part was listening to the firefighters' air pack alarms sounding indicating they were unable to move - sad, sad day," - Celeste Hunter, 49, of Victoria, Victoria Fire Department captain.

"I was working at the nursing home in Blackshear, Ga. I had started out the door to take my break. The TV was on when I walked by. I heard what was going on about the planes hitting the tower. I broke down and cried. It was an awful day." - Ethel Brown, 62, of Victoria, disabled

"I was sitting at my desk in my study working church stuff and the financial secretary's husband called and said that the second tower had collapsed. I turned on the radio and learned the horrifying truth. ... I realized the other day that I haven't been on a plane since February 1997. I've never run the gauntlet of 9/11 security."

Allen T. Coffey, 60, of Mission Valley, pastor

"I was working in a feed mill in Cuero, and a friend of mine called me to tell me what was happening. Nothing was being said on the radio so I tried the net and couldn't get on. I told my boss and he thought I was kidding. My friend then told me people were jumping out of the building. I don't know about anyone else, but I changed my life completely beginning that day. A year later, I became a teacher." - Mary Jane Callahan, of Yoakum, teacher

"I was in college in San Antonio. Word spread about a plane hitting one tower and thought someone wasn't paying attention then we heard news of the other tower. We got to the student center and watched in horror as the towers came down. Stunned silence. My parents were in Malaysia at the time since my dad worked there for Dow. I called my mom when I got home and because of the time difference she did not know of anything yet until I told her." - Myra Davila

"Will never forget it. ... I was on a business trip in Tulsa, Okla. Being away from my family was extremely tough, also had a brother working for Continental Airlines and not knowing which planes were involved was horrifying. Needless to say, we were delayed several days before being able to start home. We rented a car and drove." - Glen Davis, 42, of Victoria, sales consultant for UniFirst Uniform Co.